How Does IRCC Assess Job Offers Under the International Mobility Program?

IRCC’s updated instructions make clear that an International Mobility Program (IMP) job offer is not reviewed until you submit your work permit application.

Your employer submits the offer first and gives you the offer of employment number. You then use this number to apply for your employer-specific work permit. Only then does an immigration officer assess the employer’s offer alongside your work permit application.

This means IRCC must be satisfied both that you qualify for the specific Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)exemption being used and that your employer’s job offer is genuine.

Here’s how IRCC assesses your employer job offer, depending on the IMP pathway you’re using.

Key Takeaways

• An IMP job offer is not approved when your employer submits it through the Employer Portal.
• IRCC reviews the offer after you submit your employer-specific work permit application.
• Officers can examine your employer’s business activity, finances, previous IMP offers, and compliance history.
• Your job offer must be genuine and meet the requirements of the specific IMP exemption being used.

Getting an Offer of Employment Number Does Not Mean Your Offer Is Approved

For most employer-specific IMP work permits, your employer submits an offer of employment through IRCC’s Employer Portal and generally pays a $230 employer compliance fee.

The employer then receives an offer of employment number beginning with “A,” which you use when applying for your work permit.

However, receiving this number does not mean IRCC has approved your employer or your job offer. IRCC instructions specifically state that “the offer is not reviewed until the work permit application has been submitted.”

Instead, IRCC assesses the employer’s job offer as part of your work permit application. So, important details provided by you and your employer about your occupation, duties, wage, hours and work location should be consistent.

How Does IRCC Decide Whether an IMP Job Offer Is Genuine?

IRCC uses four factors to assess the genuineness of an employer’s offer. The officer must be satisfied that the offer meets all four.

1.      Is the Employer Actively Operating Its Business?

First, IRCC looks at whether the employer is actively engaged in the business that made the offer.

Officers can consider how long the business has operated, what it does, its number of employees, gross income, and other information about its operations.

New businesses are not automatically prevented from hiring IMP workers. However, IRCC identifies a business operating for less than one year as one circumstance that could require a more detailed review.

If necessary, the employer can be asked for business licences, tax records, contracts, or other evidence that the company is genuinely operating.

2.      Does the Employer Reasonably Need Someone to Do This Job?

Second, the position should make sense based on the company’s industry, size and operations.

IRCC gives the example of a catering company trying to hire a roofer. Because roofing does not normally fit the company’s business activities, an officer could question why the position is needed.

This is different from an LMIA assessment. The employer does not have to establish that no Canadian or permanent resident is available. Instead, IRCC is considering whether there is a credible employment need for the position being offered.

3.      Can the Employer Fulfil the Terms of the Offer?

IRCC also assesses whether the employer can provide the wages, hours, and working conditions promised. This can include looking at the company’s finances.

For example, a new company reporting $10,000 in profit while offering a foreign worker a $45,000 annual salary might raise concerns.

IRCC may request financial statements, business income information, T4 records or other evidence to clarify how the company intends to meet the offer terms.

4.      Has the Employer Followed Employment and Recruitment Laws?

Finally, IRCC can consider whether the employer has complied with federal, provincial and territorial laws regulating employment and recruitment.

Past violations can be relevant even when they did not involve temporary foreign workers. However, previous non-compliance does not necessarily mean the current offer will be refused.

IRCC’s assessment is not limited to the documents submitted with your current application. Officers can review an employer’s previous IMP offers, associated work permit applications, officer notes, verification activity and compliance inspections. They can also consult publicly available information about the business.

What Happens If IRCC Has Concerns About Your Employer’s Job Offer?

If an officer has concerns about whether your job offer is genuine, IRCC can ask your employer for additional evidence.

The request should explain which of the four genuineness factors is causing concern and why. Your employer is generally given 15 days to respond.

IRCC can also consider information found outside your application. If an officer intends to rely on information that you would not reasonably know about to make a negative decision, you should generally be given an opportunity to respond.

How Does the Job Offer Assessment Work for Different IMP Programs?

The four genuineness factors apply across employer-specific IMP work permits. These can include work permits issued through IEC Young Professionals, Francophone Mobility, Reciprocal Employment, certain free trade agreement categories, and intra-company transfer pathways.

However, passing the genuineness assessment is only one part of the process.

IRCC must also be satisfied that you and your job meet the requirements of the specific LMIA exemption you are applying under. Here is how that works for some common IMP pathways.

IEC Young Professionals Job Offers

If you apply through the Young Professionals category of International Experience Canada (IEC), you receive an employer-specific work permit. Your employer’s offer is subject to the general genuineness assessment, but the job must also separately qualify for Young Professionals.

It must:

• Contribute to your professional development
• Be classified as TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3. A TEER 4 job can potentially qualify if it is in your field of study.

Francophone Mobility Job Offers

Francophone Mobility allows eligible French-speaking workers to obtain an employer-specific work permit without an LMIA (C16 exemption).

The job offer is subject to the same four genuineness factors, but must also meet certain additional Francophone Mobility requirements.

The offer must:

• Be for a job located outside Quebec
• Not be for a primary agriculture occupation in TEER 4 or 5

You must also demonstrate intermediate French speaking and listening ability, equivalent to at least NCLC 5.

Reciprocal Employment Job Offers

Reciprocal Employment (LMIA exemption code C20) allows certain foreign nationals to work in Canada without an LMIA.

To qualify, your job offer must create or maintain reciprocal employment opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents abroad.

The employer must provide evidence that comparable opportunities are available to Canadians or permanent residents outside Canada.

Reciprocity does not necessarily require a one-for-one exchange of workers. For example, it can exist through multinational employers or institutions with operations in Canada and abroad.

Intra-Company Transfer Job Offers

Intra-company transferees (ICT) are temporarily transferred from a foreign enterprise of a multinational company to a related enterprise in Canada. Although ICT provisions are available under some International Free Trade Agreements, there are also separate LMIA-exemption codes for ICT, including C62 and C63.

For intra-company transfers, IRCC assesses whether the Canadian job offer represents a genuine temporary transfer in the same capacity as your position with the foreign enterprise. This includes comparing the Canadian role with the similar position you held abroad for at least one continuous year in the previous three years. Your foreign position must also remain available for you to return to after the Canadian assignment.

What IRCC looks for in the Canadian offer depends on the exemption being used.

C62: Senior Managers

The officer assesses whether the duties, responsibilities and level of authority in the Canadian offer are consistent with a senior managerial position and with the capacity in which you worked abroad.

The job title alone is not enough. The offer should demonstrate senior-level responsibility for managing the organization, or a department, function or component of it.

C63: Specialized Knowledge Workers

The officer assesses whether the Canadian position actually requires the proprietary knowledge and advanced expertise you developed with the multinational company.

The duties in the offer should demonstrate why that specialized knowledge is required and be consistent with the capacity in which you worked for the foreign enterprise.

Officers also look at the wages being offered to determine whether the position is truly specialized.

What Should You Check Before Applying for an IMP Work Permit?

Before applying, make sure the job details in your application match what your employer submitted through the Employer Portal, and that you understand the requirements of your specific IMP exemption.

Remember, receiving an offer of employment number does not mean your offer has been approved. IRCC will assess both whether the offer is genuine and whether you and the job qualify for the LMIA exemption when it reviews your work permit application.